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Home Visiting
The tuberculosis health visitors employed by this Council continue to attend
the Edmonton Chest Clinic while health visitors employed by the London Borough
of Barnet attend the Finchley Chest Clinic. Their duties are principally concerned
with home visiting, but in addition they perform clinical duties at the chest clinics.
Although their work primarily relates to tuberculosis, it in fact embraces all types
of chest disease. During 1966 the tuberculosis visitors made a total of 3,794 visits
to patients' homes.
The visits are undertaken for the purpose of contact tracing, supervision of
persons under treatment, encouraging defaulters to attend clinic sessions, giving
advice on prevention of spread of infection and on facilities available for care and
after-care and for reporting on the home conditions of patients.
Welfare
The medico-social work of the Chest Clinics is fully integrated with the hospital
almoning service. Modern methods of treatment are such that many tuberculous
patients are able to return to their employment after a few months' treatment.
Special consideration is given by the Council, as a housing authority, to tuberculous
patients with a housing need.
Medical Arrangements for Long-stay Immigrants
Arrangements to cover the rather special problems which arise in connection
with the health and treatment of long-stay immigrants to this country were set out
in the Ministry of Health Circular C.M.O. 1/65. In consultation with representatives
of the medical profession and of local authorities, the Minister decided that
the following steps be taken :
(a) At ports or arrival long-stay immigrants, both Commonwealth and alien,
who are referred to medical inspectors, will be given a hand-out printed
in languages which they are likely to understand, the aim of which is to
encourage them to get on to the list of a medical practitioner in their
place of residence so that (if he thinks it desirable) he can arrange for
them to go to a mass radiography unit, a chest clinic or a hospital for
X-ray.
(b) Long-stay immigrants who are referred to medical inspectors at the ports
will also be asked to provide their destination addresses and these will
be sent to the Medical Officer of Health of the county or county borough
concerned (including also Scotland and Northern Ireland) with a request
that he should try to persuade the immigrants to act on the advice they
have been given in the hand-out. Medical Officers of Health and local
officers of the Ministry of Social Security will also be supplied with copies
of the hand-out in case they come into contact with immigrants who have
not received one or apparently lost it.
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